- OTHER MEDIA
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- SF Bay Guardian June 5, 2009 (Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave)
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- KRAPP’S LAST TAPE
- It is late evening and an older man enters into the room. There is
an old metal desk in the center of the room. There are two drawers that
face the audience. The weary looking frumpily dressed man sits at the table
and thinks. He is dressed like an old-time accountant or businessman. His
shoes are white, but worn down at the heels. He looks disoriented and not
very happy. As a matter of fact, he looks downright depressed.
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- With his laborious walk, he occasionally gets up and opens one of the
drawers on the desk. He is looking for a tape. He fumbles around a lot,
making a big deal of putting the tape on the old-fashioned tape recorder
that sits on the desk. No one is around, but every time he unlocks one
of the desk drawers he locks them again before he sits down again to listen
to a tape of himself when he was young man.
- Actually, the acting is mostly in the body movement of the actor. He
peers at a ledger, looks into piles of recorded tapes and never really
seems to find exactly what he is looking for. It’s as if he is looking
for his youth in a box. He is not a happy man. He broods a lot. On the
tape – the voice that comes out is much stronger. Krapp seems to be
amused by some of what he is listening to as it takes him back. At other
times he is annoyed with the tape – shuts it off, then after staring
at it for a few minutes turns it back on.
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- What we see in this story is a man who is miserable, because he cannot
deal with getting older. He has bowel problems and leaves the stage to
use the bathroom several times. We hear bathroom noises. Krapp comes back
out, relieved for the time being. He looks at his watch again – broods
again, gets up from the desk, disappears off stage into the darkness and
we hear singing to these lyrics: “Now the day is over, Night is drawing
nigh-igh, Shadows…” What does it mean? Probably that he knows
that end of life is drawing near. Krapp is a sad man, an unhappy man –
and probably was a miserable old-f%*k. But you can help but want to reach
out to him. To take his hand and say “its O.K. You’re going to
be O.K.” Yes, you would like to do that – but would Krapp let
you? I doubt it.
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- Patrick Magee, a Northern Irish actor who was known for his collaborations
with Samuel Becket and Harold Pinter, wrote Krapp’s last stand. He
died of a heart attack on August 14, 1982. He was 60.
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- Krapp's last Tape is involving and heart-rendering. Paul Gerrior (Krapp)
is just the perfect actor to flesh out the full meaning of the play. “He
is nothing short of Brilliant!” And although we never see the voice
on the tape – David Sinaiko as the young Krapp “is provocative,
hypnotic and on spot authentic!” Too bad he didn’t do a curtain
call.
- Rob Melrose Directs and gives the play a heartbreaking look at family
life and love that is smart and gripping and first rate!
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- The Costume designer Maggie Whitaker turned Mr. Krapp’ into a
‘living piece of art.’ Terrific!
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- You might leave the theater asking yourself. Why are Apes different
than us? They aren’t!
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- AT THE CUTTING BALL THEATRE (Exit Theatre on Taylor Street)
- RATING: FOUR GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!! (highest rating) – trademarked-
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